Campus Reopened

The campus will be open for classes and all other business Monday, Nov. 19 and Tuesday, Nov. 20 with a regular employee workday and faculty duty day (no classes scheduled) on Wednesday, Nov. 21. Updates at go.sjsu.edu/air.

Courses Taught

Research Interests

My research interests lie in the area of environmental microbiology and microbial
diversity. Currently my laboratory is involved in two active research projects. The
first project focuses on the isolation of bromination enzymes from bacteria in marine
or high salt environments. We have isolated microorganisms capable of brominating
organics from a salt evaporation pond as well as the slime of a marine invertebrate
worm classified as an acorn worm. Our studies involve the identification of the bacteria
by isolating and sequencing their 16SrRNA genes as well as the isolation and characterization
of the bromination enzymes, which include bromoperoxidases. The second project focuses
on the investigation of the microbial diversity in the soil of salt marshes in the
process of natural restoration as well as the role of the denitrifying organisms in
this process. We are using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) to begin
to understand the diversity throughout the growing season. This technique involves
the extraction of the total community DNA from the soil followed by the amplification
of the bacterial 16SrRNA genes. The amplified genes are grouped into operational taxonomic
units (OTUs) by restriction digests and representatives are sequenced. We are examining
three marshes, which are in various restoration stages ranging from a mud flat to
an almost completely restored wetland. Both projects require the isolation and quantification
of DNA and protein using a highly sensitive method. This research will be greatly
supported by the grant of fluorometer from Turner BioSystems.